Extinct species ignored

Extinct species ignored

JAKARTA (JP): Most governments in the world have failed to
fully implement the international convention on the protection of
endangered species.

The World Wide Fund (WWF) said on Saturday that 124 countries,
which signed the Convention on International Trade of Endangered
Species (CITES), have not adopted the convention in their
national policies, Antara reported.

Even the richest countries in the world do not have adequate
regulations on the subject, or face problems in the
implementation of the convention, Stephen Nash, assistant
director of TRAFFIC, WWF's program on the international trade of
endangered species, said.

This year's meeting of CITES will take place from Nov. 7 to
Nov. 18 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Nash said that the U.S. could not include the resolution of
the convention in the federal code due to its complicated
bureaucracy.

Japan does not have the specific regulations to enforce CITES.
It lacks specifics on confiscation, which makes it difficult for
the government to confiscate endangered species being traded.

The countries which signed the convention are supposed to
issue national regulations on the trade of endangered species and
periodically report any trade activity to make sure that this
will not bring species into extinction.

During the period between 1983 and 1992, however, 77 member
countries failed to make such reports.

WWF Director General Dr. Claude Martin said that CITES would
not work without the political commitment of the member
countries.

WWF lists Indonesia's red and blue lorry parrot among the 10
animals and plants nearest to extinction.

Other animals nearest extinction are Asia's tiger, Africa's
black rhinoceros, China's giant panda, the Asiatic black bear,
the hawksbill sea turtle, the saiga antelope of Mongolia and
Russia, the Atlantic bluefin tuna, and the Egyptian tortoise.

The Himalayan yew, a tree, is the only plant species included
on the list. (sim)